Another "Is 125k enough to live on in Basel?" thread

[olygirl]

I swear I will never read a thread like this again. It's soooo depressing for us normal folks who get by on much less.

[phdoofus]

Seriously. There are enough threads asking about can I live in such and such a town on such and such a salary that people should be able to use the search function. The mods should be deleting these threads as soon as they appear, IMO.

[Snoopy]

	Quote:	lilys
	We will have to go back to the Uk quite often as my husband can't relocate so I would be bringing my mother.. Is it worth giving it a go?(Now there's another topic for debate!)

Going back to the UK at frequent intervals sounds like torture

I can understand you bringing your Mother (at least you won't need a maid), but personally in a case like that I would have brought my dog....

[Snoopy]

	Quote:	phdoofus
	Seriously. There are enough threads asking about can I live in such and such a town on such and such a salary that people should be able to use the search function. The mods should be deleting these threads as soon as they appear, IMO.

For once you and I are very much on the same page. These posts are nothing less than disguised exhibitionism. In the the vein of "my willy is this long, will I be able to get laid?"

[markalex]

	Quote:	rrs
	They are right. Mountains and lakes are nice but you can't talk to them, well at least you shouldn't. It's not all it's cracked up to be. I would just vist any friends that already live in Switzerland, and visit them. A few long weekends a year are nice, but you will go insane if you lived here.

Is this a real thread, bringing your mother?

[PlantHead]

	Quote:	Snoopy
	my willy is this long, will I be able to get laid?"

That is a good title for a thread right there.

[Charlie R. Soles]

	Quote:	lilys
	Hi there I am very interested in what you decided to do about this! - I have been offered a job in Switzerland (not Basel) for 125k, plus intl school fees, but no housing or car allowance. Or flights home. There will be three of us, and I too was wondering if it was enough... We will have to go back to the Uk quite often as my husband can't relocate so I would be bringing my mother.. Is it worth giving it a go?(Now there's another topic for debate!) Up until now, I'd always dreamt of living in Switzerland but now it all seems quite difficult and people here in London are trying to talk me out of it saying it's an expensive, dull place where you can't flush your toilet at night!!

This is totaly inadequate; you best stay where you are. Switzerland is totaly boring, the public transport system is inexistant, health care is reduced to veterinary surgeons and we're patiently waiting for spring to come so we can have some grass to eat finaly.

[phdoofus]

If you don't buy a Ferrari and drive down the road throwing steaks out the window on the way to meet your mistress, you should be fine.

[Richdog]

	Quote:	Snoopy
	For once you and I are very much on the same page. These posts are nothing less than disguised exhibitionism. In the the vein of "my willy is this long, will I be able to get laid?"

What a load of ****. The guy has a family of 3 and is asking if 125k CHF will give them a decent lifestyle, as he obviously knows nothing and has done no research on costs or living standards here. While that may be annoying, and it sucks reading the same type of question time and time again (is any forum different in that respect?), it's hardly "disguised exhibitionism" considering 125k is nothing 'special' in this country, not least when you have a wife and kid and school fees to pay for.

The only people I could see even remotely thinking it was a willy waving thread after reading the OP are those who are jealous of the salary posted. Which is a bit pointless.

[lilys]

I apologise if I offended anybody with my post. It's a big life choice to make from another country, without any understanding of the tax/healthcare and cost of living. And people looked pretty helpful on here, so I thought it best to be upfront.

	Quote:	lilys
	I apologise if I offended anybody with my post. It's a big life choice to make from another country, without any understanding of the tax/healthcare and cost of living. And people looked pretty helpful on here, so I thought it best to be upfront.

One can always ask - there are no stupid questions (someone told me once when I was little)

[Richdog]

	Quote:	lilys
	I apologise if I offended anybody with my post. It's a big life choice to make from another country, without any understanding of the tax/healthcare and cost of living. And people looked pretty helpful on here, so I thought it best to be upfront.

The problem is when you have people who spend every day on a forum over the course of years, some develop a lofty level of jadedness that means they react badly to the most mind-numbingly petty things... such as threads like this which they would have answered with gusto 2 years ago... but as time goes on all becomes repetitive and while they could of course not even bother reading or replying, they instead get up in arms about it. It's a common phenomenon, pay no heed, and don't let it put you off the forum.

[Snoopy]

	Quote:	Richdog
	What a load of ****. The guy has a family of 3 and is asking if 125k CHF will give them a decent lifestyle, as he obviously knows nothing and has done no research on costs or living standards here. While that may be annoying, and it sucks reading the same type of question time and time again (is any forum different in that respect?), it's hardly "disguised exhibitionism" considering 125k is nothing 'special' in this country, not least when you have a wife and kid and school fees to pay for. The only people I could see even remotely thinking it was a willy waving thread after reading the OP are those who are jealous of the salary posted. Which is a bit pointless.

Actually RichDog it is not 125K, with the rental allowance it is more like 150K.
There are many ways in which to get this kind of information without asking a perfect bunch of strangers who all have their own opinions and who all get fed up being asked the same question day after day. If this person really wants to get good information on what a salary will do for them then they need to put their hands in their pocket and look for an international accountancy firm such as Price Waterhouse Coopers. Spend an hour with them and pay them a fee and you will know how far your money will go and what the tax implications of the perks will be. It is well worth the money. But yes, it means actually spending some money rather than relying on free information here...

[Charlie R. Soles]

	Quote:	allegra_:)
	One can always ask - there are no stupid questions (someone told me once when I was little)

This is very true, but in the same vein, this question has already been asked several times, and answered at length on this forum.

You could always ask a specific question after a little research.

It's also a very relative question to ask, unless you explain in detail how you life and what you expect, it's not easy to answer correctly, but if you think you may have problems living off £75k, the answer maybe here.

[17clarence]

	Quote:	lilys
	Hi there I have been offered a job in Switzerland (not Basel) for 125k, plus intl school fees, but no housing or car allowance. Or flights home. There will be three of us, and I too was wondering if it was enough...

Well if you are going to move to Switzerland, then it will become your home, hence no flights back to UK.
If your husband won't relocate, and you have to bring your mother to look after the kids, then it's going to be hard work. I hope the job is worth it!
Where in Switzerland?

[Snoopy]

	Quote:	lilys
	I apologise if I offended anybody with my post. It's a big life choice to make from another country, without any understanding of the tax/healthcare and cost of living. And people looked pretty helpful on here, so I thought it best to be upfront.

Lilys, you are absolutely right. And that is why you should go looking for expert advice rather than asking us here where, with one question, you will get 35 1/2 different answers. As I said in my reply to Richdog, look for one of the large international accounting firms that deal with expatriates and tell them what you want to know. They have departments that deal with stuff like this and, for a fee, they will sit down and give you accurate information based on facts. As you said, it is a very big life choice and surely you want to base that choice on professional advice rather than on the opinion of a bunch of "willy wavers" like us. No?

[phdoofus]

	Quote:	Richdog
	The problem is when you have people who spend every day on a forum over the course of years, some develop a lofty level of jadedness that means they react badly to the most mind-numbingly petty things... such as threads like this which they would have answered with gusto 2 years ago... but as time goes on all becomes repetitive and while they could of course not even bother reading or replying, they instead get up in arms about it. It's a common phenomenon, pay no heed, and don't let it put you off the forum.

You seem to have spent a fair bit of time on this. You could always learn to use the ignore button, too.

[Carlos R]

	Quote:	Snoopy
	There are many ways in which to get this kind of information without asking a perfect bunch of strangers who all have their own opinions and who all get fed up being asked the same question day after day. If this person really wants to get good information on what a salary will do for them then they need to put their hands in their pocket and look for an international accountancy firm such as Price Waterhouse Coopers. Spend an hour with them and pay them a fee and you will know how far your money will go and what the tax implications of the perks will be. It is well worth the money. But yes, it means actually spending some money rather than relying on free information here...

Actually, I would rather gather as much information before paying someone for info/analysis, as the questions you ask during the process should yield much more relevant information as a result of the "free" info gained.

There are many problems associated with moving to CH, not least the language issue. If you are going to something with no knowledge of the system, trying to get info is very hard as you cannot judge how relevant/accurate that info is in a vacuum. Trying to get detailed answers from websites that are in French or German, when neither is your language, is not easy - and it is unfair to assume that one should know the language before moving.

Posting your questions, IMO, is a good way to start, as hopefully it should point you in the right direction. Really, move on if you are not interested in the thread - the question is not specifically or personally directed at YOU, it is a question to the EF community. Those that wish to answer can.

[Richdog]

	Quote:	phdoofus
	You seem to have spent a fair bit of time on this. You could always learn to use the ignore button, too.

Yup, of course. Good reply.

[Richdog]

	Quote:	Snoopy
	Actually RichDog it is not 125K, with the rental allowance it is more like 150K. There are many ways in which to get this kind of information without asking a perfect bunch of strangers who all have their own opinions and who all get fed up being asked the same question day after day. If this person really wants to get good information on what a salary will do for them then they need to put their hands in their pocket and look for an international accountancy firm such as Price Waterhouse Coopers. Spend an hour with them and pay them a fee and you will know how far your money will go and what the tax implications of the perks will be. It is well worth the money. But yes, it means actually spending some money rather than relying on free information here...

It's a free forum specifically designed for ex-pats or people thinking of moving here... this type of question is expected. If you don't like it then don't reply and leave others with more patience to do it for you, how can you argue against that?

As for the "Before asking random people on the internet go and spend money" comment, well that is possible the silliest things i've read in the thread. Why would someone spend money before trying to ask other people, who live in the country and know the living costs, on a forum specifically geared towards Switzerland, with sections specifically geared towards cost of living and salaries... for free? Does not compute, on any level.